This looks important

1. This looks important Ch 39 notes

2. Vietnamization • Richard Nixon came into the presidency following his victory in 1968 with social problems everywhere • Most issues stemmed from the ongoing issues in Vietnam • Nixon’s strength, without question, was his ability to handle foreign affairs • Nixon’s Vietnamization policy called for the withdrawal of 540,000 troops from South Vietnam over an extended period of time • He was not, however, ending the war • Nixon wanted to replace these U.S. troops with S. Vietnamese troops trained with American money, weapons, and advice • The goal was that eventually the S. Vietnamese would take over the fighting from the Americans • The Nixon Doctrine proclaimed the U.S. would honor its existing defense commitments but that in the future, Asians and others would have to fight their own wars without the support of large bodies of American ground troops • This was not enough for doves, who wanted a full withdrawal from Vietnam that was prompt, complete, unconditional, and irreversible

3. From the privacy of their homes, the chant was whispered…U-S-A! U-S-A! • Nixon understood the large counterculture movement needed to be combated directly • When 100,000 people protested in the Boston Common and 50,000 walked by the White House, Nixon was undaunted • Nixon focused on the “silent majority” • Nixon thought that most Americans were supportive of the war, but they were quieter (and more civilized) than the vocal minority of protesters • Nixon wouldn’t back down and the protesters weren’t going away—Spiro Agnew (Nixon’s VP) called the antiwar groups “nattering nabobs of negativism” and Nixon called student antiwar protesters “bums” (I think Agnew got the better of the insult battle)

4. Vietnam—Real Talk • By January 1970, 40,000 Americans had been killed in Vietnam; 250,000 were wounded in Vietnam • The war was even unpopular among many soldiers • Many of the soldiers were amongst the least privileged, since college students and men with “critical civilian skills” were exempted from the draft • African Americans were disproportionally represented in both the army and war’s death count • It was hard to tell who was a Vietnamese citizen and who was an enemy combatant of the Vietcong living amongst you • Booby-traps in swamps and jungles were everywhere • Drug abuse, mutiny, and sabotage occurred in the U.S. ranks • One of the worst episodes in American History (and, ironically, one of the best episodes of Law and Order) dealt with My Lai • It was revealed in 1970 that U.S. troops had massacred innocent women and children in the village of My Lai in 1968…that’s NOT a way to win the hearts and minds of the World • See Quote p. 941

5. A Not-So-Little White Lie • So what happens at home when you fail to mention to your parents that you did something? You didn’t exactly lie, but you didn’t tell them the whole truth…did you Madison…? • So anyway, when you get home from a swim at the pool (and they find out it was actually a hot tub party), what would the reaction be, even if you didn’t nothing wrong? • Yea, that’s kinda like Nixon and Cambodia…

6. Cambodia • In Nixon’s early days, the U.S. had bombed Cambodia…just nobody knew about it • Beginning in March 1969 and continuing until the U.S. openly stated that they would bomb Cambodia in May 1970, the U.S. had 3,500 bombing raids against the N. Vietnamese in Cambodia • This information was found out in July 1973 • This led to the War Powers Act in November 1973 being passed by Congress by overriding a presidential veto • The War Powers Act required the president to report to Congress within 48 hours of committing troops to a foreign conflict or “substantially” enlarging American combat units in a foreign country • Reaction to the Cambodian attacks led to protests across the nation • At Kent St. members of the National Guard fired into a noisy crowd, killing 4 and wounding many more • At Jackson State (Miss.), the highway patrol shot into a student dorm, killing 2 students

7. Kissinger and Nixon • Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s National Security Advisor, was an ornery old man • He believed the world should be seen through a black-and-white lens; either something was right or it was wrong • Along with Nixon, he engaged in two key political philosophies—Realpolitik and Détente • Realpolitik was the idea that everything should be done according to what was best for your country…morals essentially did not matter • Détente was the attempt to ease Cold War tensions with other aggressive nations • Though the Cold War continued throughout Nixon’s reign, Nixon attempted to ease tensions with China • Nixon visited Communist China in February 1972 and ended it with the Shanghai Communique, an agreement that the two countries would “normalize” their relationship • America also officially recognized mainland China (before known as “Red China”) lessening U.S. commitment to the independence of Taiwan • America then visited the USSR and ushered in détente and gained a 3 year arrangement where the U.S. agreed to sell the Soviets at least $750 million worth of wheat, corn, and other cereals • SALT and an ABM treaty mattered too…what are those?